Talks on Strength, from a Relative Weakling

I really enjoy lifting weights. Scratch that, I am near fanatical about lifting weights. Since Jr. High, I have needed to get in the weight room and throw some iron around. Many summer days were spent working on my bench press, squat, and power cleans in hopes of getting bigger, faster and stronger for the next football season. In rugby, at Texas Tech, several of us in the front eight would get together three to four times a week in order to lift and have some time together off the pitch and away from the bar. The payoff was the strongest "pack" that Texas Tech has ever had (we in the front three, the two props and hooker, all squatted over 600 lbs. at one point!). Since leaving rugby and university, I still have almost an animal instinct to be in the weight room to release a lot of the stresses of everyday life. I found a gym a mile from the Dominion that was 24/7 access, but they went belly-up, leaving me without a place to work out for the last 3 and a half months. Not the most joyous of times in my life! I have since found a new place to sling weights and have been there on a routine at 5am four days a week.

I have been lifting for some 13 years and have enjoyed every second of it (minus tearing my left biceps muscle, and other muscle strains, spasms, etc.). I don't enjoy getting bigger (ask my wife, I'm pretty self-conscious), getting "swoll" or staring at myself endlessly in the mirror like the many narcissists who frequent the gym. What I do enjoy is being able to be strong for other people. When people need a hand with something, they know that they can call me. The same goes for my intellect (this is not some narcissistic babble about myself, trust me!). I like to study and be wise about things in order to help other people. Richard Baxter nailed it in his book, "The Reformed Pastor," when he said, '...strength is not given to the strong for their own sake, but in order to be shared with the weak.' For these reason, I continually find myself pushing around a quarter of a ton (on certain lifts) and continuing to push myself to the limits of my physical and mental strengths.

A thought struck me, though, last Friday on my way up to my haven of testosterone. With all of my physical and intellectual strengths, why do I so often leave out the spiritual? Have I fallen into thinking that I can compensate for my lack of spiritual strength with bulging pectorals that can push over 400 pounds off of my chest, or thinking that a thorough critique of Lewis' "Mere Christianity" compensates for a lack of fervor in prayer? How silly and worldly could these thought get? 

What God spoke to my heart made me catch my breath a little bit as I was driving; a sort of sharp, cutting and almost searing question that cut me to the heart. "Are your physical and intellectual strengths a reflection of your spiritual strength, or a compensation for your lack of? You say you're bringing me glory by these things, what about your heart?" 

That's when I began meditating on Joshua 1v.9 in God's command for Joshua (as well as all of us whom He has called to Himself) to be strong. God continually calls us to huge and incredible things, things which are often terrifying when we look at them with our small, worldly eyes. Yet, when we understand that it is His strength that courses through our hearts and souls, we are emboldened to do incredible things.

Carrie and I are walking through a truly strength-testing time, in our lives, right now. Preparing for a daughter would be stressful enough on its own, but the thought that we only have a short time to raise our full amount of support for going on staff with our missions organization, will be moving in a few short months, and will be leaving behind our families, friends, and church home is really daunting. And yet, we have absolute assurance in that God has led us to this place in life. He is the One who we have followed, the pillar of fire and smoke in our lives who we trust with all that we have. Knowing that, I know what else He has called me to, as a husband, father, pastor, missionary and Christian: have strength. Be encouraged! Take heart and follow! 

My prayer, as I walk through this stressful and rough time with my wife and daughter, is that I learn what it is to have fortitude in the Saviour. How I pray that the strengths that I carry externally in physical and mental attributes will simply be outpourings of the amount of strength that comes from my faith and walk with Jesus.

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."

Praise our Lord for how He walks with us, step-by-step, and even carries us sometimes; and how He is always there to give us courage through speaking to our hearts!

Be encouraged! Take heart and follow the Lord! "Further up, further in!" Sometimes the strongest words come from the meekest of characters.

A Little Bit of Wrastlin'

Over the course of the last few weeks, I've come to see the story of Jacob wrestling with God in a different light. Whereas, before, I was much more focused on the sheer intensity of hand-to-hand combat between the future Israel and his Lord, lately what sticks out is the tenacity that Jacob showed, even after having his hip wrenched out of socket, to just hang on.

"I will not let you go unless you bless me..."

Genesis 32v.26b

There are plenty of times, in life, where we are wrestling with God. Whether it comes to us being focused on our selfish desires rather than glorifying God, or simply thinking that we know, more than our Lord, what is best for us, we tend to wrestle with Him. Of course, what happens when the Lord is not testing our strength but, rather, is testing our endurance?

I think that there are definite times in life when we are wrestling more out of just holding on to something than out of anger or frustration. There are times when everything seems to be falling by the wayside and all we can do is hang on to what we know to be absolutely firm and solid... Christ, our anchor in this rough and tumultuous world. Like Paul clinging to a piece of driftwood and floating in the Mediterranean, we hold tight to that which keeps us afloat. There are so many different kinds of waves that batter us day-in and day-out, yet we have assurance in knowing that Jesus, as Lord, holds us steady.

Hold on! Hold on! Hold on!

We must be the type of people who hold fast to what we know to be true, and that is this - Jesus Christ is our fortress and rock. We have no one aside from Him.

Why? Oh, Why?

"For you are the God in whom I take refuge; why have you rejected me?" (Psalm 43v.2)

These words strike haunting chords in all of us, as humans. The very idea that a loving God could cause this kind of heartache baffles the majority of us and makes many a person stumble. In a world where so many, especially in the evangelical world, have associated following Christ with always being happy, as though Jesus were some kind of eternal high for our souls, this is a hard concept.

As Believers, we all walk the constant line of thinking for ourselves and our own selfish wants versus seeking God's face and what is bringing Him glory. Often times, our comfort and God's glory are quite opposite, colliding in one of those moments illustrated by crashing helmets on Monday Night Football. What we think is best runs right into that which God knows is best, leaving us to mutter, "I don't think God loves me. If He did, He would have given me..."

Here, in Psalm 43, is a sobering reminder that even those who are our spiritual heroes and sought God's face most had their trying times. David takes refuge in God, yet admits that he feels as though God has rejected him. There is yet another cross-roads in David's life: will he continue to persevere through the rough season, or will he fall into worshiping himself through trusting himself more than God.

In the season I'm in, right now, it can often seem like I'm saying "Why have you forgotten me, Lord?" And yet, through verses like this, I'm reminded that God will come through. This is a momentary season in the years of my life; years that I have committed, for a long time, now, to live in love to my Lord and my God. When things aren't working out the way we think they're supposed to, do we still worship? Who's plans are eternal - mine, or God's? The choice here is obvious... I am only living now in the temporary; I follow the Ancient of Days.

Delighting in the Lord

When it comes to the idea of "delight," there are many different definitions for it, depending on the person. For many, delight is found in a summer's walk at dusk, when the stars are just starting to twinkle in the sky. Others may have delight in playing host to a group of people (my mother-in-law takes particular delight when all of her kids are home). Still others may take delight in the smell of a freshly-mown rugby pitch that is just ripe for the sweat and blood that will be spilled on it. There is a plethora of different thoughts that can come to mind when a person thinks of delight.

In my personal study time, I've been moving steadily through the Psalms, for the fourth or fifth time. 

One verse that always sticks out to me is found in chapter 37. In 37v.4, we read the Psalmist verse, "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart."

This is one of those verses, though, that tends to be misunderstood by many. In a society where so many people love the whole "Health / Wealth / Prosperity" movement, we love verses that tell us we're going to get things. "Say this prayer and God will bless you ten-fold." "With a little more faith, God is going to get you that job where you can go buy your six-figure car!" "He must have not had enough faith, because God didn't rescue him from that disease..." and so on and so on. We tend to think along the lines that whatever we want, that's what God is going to provide. In our little human minds, we dumb delight down to being all about us.

"Delight yourself in the Lord..."

When we take delight in the Lord, we are glorifying Him most. As theologian John Piper says, "God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in Him." This means that regardless what happens in the world around us, our chief joy and happiness comes from the Lord; not our bank account, not our 401(k), not the ever-increasing gas prices, our hobbies, or anything else (lest we make these idols). When we delight in the Lord, there is nothing that pleases us more than our walk with Him. 

"...and He will give you the desires of your heart."

This is where things get really misconstrued. If our joy and hope are found in the Lord, why do we think that we're entitled to the materialistic things that we often want. I don't know how many times I've had conversations with students who were disappointed with God because He didn't give them something they wanted and desired. "I really wanted a boyfriend..." "I wanted a new computer..." "I wanted my parents to stay together..." These are all great wants of a teenager, college kid, or even adult. But, the question here is not whether or not God gave the person those things. The question is whether or not the person was more focused on those gifts rather than on the Giver.

When we truly delight ourselves in the Lord, we are saying, "Jesus, there is nothing that I desire more than You. You are the desire of my heart and nothing in this world compares to you. I would give up everything for You." Sometimes, this may be asked of you. Delighting in the Lord is so much more than just feeling happy about God and singing few praise songs to him once or maybe twice a week. Delighting ourselves in Him means that everything we do has Him in mind. 

As Spring has "sprung" and summer time (at least here in Texas) is quickly approaching, there are many things that we take delight in, this time of year. There are many things that we can focus on and lose sight of the One who gave them to us. My prayer is that we truly take to heart what it is to delight ourselves in the Lord, and that we seek to live that out in everything we do in this life... as well as the next.